A Heartfelt Conversation
by coyearth
Summary: Twitchtip's point of veiw during her conversation with Gregor.


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Basically Twitchtips point of veiw from when she and Gregor had their conversation in the boat after waking up next to each other. I hope I got her thoughts and her as a gnawer correct. And yes, I did use the book to get their conversation correct.

Twitchtip shivered. The gentle rocking of the boat was supposed to help her sleep. But it had the opposite effect. She groaned quietly and placed her paws over her nose. The smells sickened her. From the human next to her from the water. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

Another shiver rippled down her spine. She opened her eyes and looked around. The gentle snoring from the other passengers showed everyone else was asleep. She sat up on her two back legs, her front paws still covering her nose.

The water quietly splashed at the sides of her boat. She moved away from the boat's wall. It was crowded, so she could only move slightly. Her eyes drifted to the human boy.

His arm was under his sister. The warrior's breathing matched his sisters. They didn't have a problem keeping warm. Maybe it was the extra body heat.

Twitchtip's whiskers trembled. _Maybe just for tonight…._ She crept closer. The smell became more powerful with each step. _No one will know…I'll move before everyone wakes up._

She was close enough to feel his heat and sighed. She lowered down on all four feet and looked down at him for just a moment before gently falling the to ground. She crawled even closer and cuddled against his leg.

Even though the smell make her sick to her stomach, it felt nice to have physical contact for a change. She closed her eyes and, trying not to inhale his scent more than she had to, drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Twitchtip felt movement next to her and opened her eyes. Her eyes widened. He had woken before her and discovered her next to him. She sat up and scooted back until she felt the wall of the boat bump into her. Her wary eyes watched his face.

After a moment, he spoke up. "Hey, sorry. I must've rolled into you when I was sleeping."

She knew he was covering for her. She didn't object. In fact, she felt grateful. Almost as grateful as when he saved her from the whirlpool. "It's hard not to do." She said, looking down for a few seconds. "There's so little room in the boat."

"Yeah." He agreed. He looked around, obviously not knowing what to say.

She gazed at him curiously. She never did thank him for saving her. She felt she needed to. There certainly was no one else to thank, since they wanted her dead anyway. "I know you made them save me."

"Well, I kinda spearheaded the whole thing."

Twitchtip knew he didn't want her to know he was the only one who wanted to save her. But he didn't need to tell her. He was different from the Underlanders. "Ripred was right about you." She said. "He said I couldn't judge you like I would other humans."

"That's interesting. Because I think Vikus said something similar to me about Ripred." He said. He seemed to be uncomfortable. "So how long have you been living on your own?" He asked, obviously changing the subject.

"Three or four years." Twitchtip stated simply.

"Why'd they drive you out? The other rats. I mean, they're so into smell, seems like you'd be famous." He asked this as if he had wanted to know for some time.

"I was, in a way, for some times." She said. She sighed, remembering when she was praised and treated different, but in a good way. "Then they realized I could smell their secrets, and no one wanted me around." She said scornfully. "I can smell yours, too." She added.

"My secrets? Like what?"

"I know what happens when you fight." She said quietly.

"What happened when I fight?" He asked.

She knew he was trying to seem like he didn't know what she was talking about. "You can't stop. You put out a scent. I have only smelled it once or twice before. We rats have a name for someone like you. You're a rager."

"A rager? What's a rager?"

"It's a special kind of fighter. They're born with great ability. While others may train for years to master combat, a rager is a natural-born killer."

"I'm not a natural-born killer!" Gregor gasped. "Is that what everybody thinks? I'm some kind of killing machine?"

"No one even knows about it yet, or it would've been the first thing I heard about you. Being a rager – it's not a moral judgement. You can't help being one any more than I can help being a scent seer. It doesn't mean you want to kill, it means you can. Better than anyone. But once you begin to fight, it's very hard for you to rein yourself in." She warned him.

"I think you've got me mixed up with someone else." He said.

Twitchtip was amused. He really didn't want to be one, did he? "No, I don't. Ignore me if you want to, but eventually you'll know I'm right. If you get a chance, though, I'd talk to Ripred about it." She didn't know why she told him that. Why give him advice if he doubts her ability?

"Ripred? Why Ripred?"

"Because he's a rager too." She said. "But, unlike you, he learned to control his actions." She added.

"I'm going back to sleep now." He sounded confused, worried, even. He lay back down and pulled his sister closer.

Twitchtip sighed silently. At least he had someone for comfort. She could tell he wasn't really sleeping. Thinking things over. But she knew she had to tell him. He had to realize it somehow. _Call it a favor for saving me, _she thought. It was the only way to repay him that she could think of at the moment. She'd think of something later.

She sighed and gasped. She had forgotten about the stench humans gave off. She covered her nose with her paws and exhaled slowly. She leaned against the boat, letting the sound of the waves calm her nerves while the rest of the passengers slept peacefully.

**Okay...I was unsure of how to end this. So I hope it's an at least decent ending.**


End file.
